


Unlikely Friends

by orphan_account



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Did I take two months to write this? maybe, I basically made this entire thing just so I could give Roman a fae partner, M/M, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, but also like... people are monsters, but that's okay!, is it double as long as I thought it would be? maybe, it's not my best work ever but I'm still proud of it, just because, nb!patton, patton uses they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21856513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Roman and Patton aren't friends by any meaning of the word. So, when Roman bumps into Patton's friend, they overreact a little bit and land them both in detention together. Neither of them is happy about that, but maybe they aren't so different after all
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Sleep | Remy Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: Sanders Sides Secret Santa 2019





	Unlikely Friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [a-fandom-trashdump](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=a-fandom-trashdump).



Roman isn't a particularly good werewolf. Wolves are supposed to be mean and vicious, and that's just not part of who he is. Sure, sometimes he'll get violent, but it's only ever to protect the people he cares about, and it doesn't happen very often. Roman doesn't even want to be like the rest of his pack, though he knows he's supposed to. He doesn't see how attacking people for no reason and all around being a bit of a prick is going to help anyone.

The rest of his pack doesn't like him very much. Of course, they're loyal to each other; Roman doesn't think that there's an option besides loyalty for people in his pack. But loyalty and love are very different. The only person in his pack that even likes him is Remy. Luckily, they're near the same age, so they're together in school. That makes Roman's life significantly more bearable.

He couldn't imagine being alone in a class like Mr. Sanders'. As much as the older man is nice, he assigns a _lot_ of group work. Case in point, he and Remy are working together on a slideshow about the Civil Rights movement right now. Roman glances over to the class loner, a witch named Virgil. To be honest, Roman doesn't know why he doesn't have more friends. He doesn't seem so bad, though he is a bit dark for Roman's taste. He's a lot like Remy, just a little less loud. He does have a few friends, though. He's part of the same social circle as Patton Harte, a fae who is as quick to violence as many of Roman's pack members and wildly outspoken.

You'd think that they would be a bit nicer, seeing as they were a literal fairy, but alas, they continued to be a pain in the neck. Them and their little group of social outcasts caused a lot of trouble around the school, getting into countless arguments and occasionally even full swung fights. They were a bunch of hotheads and loners. They didn't even go to parties or sports events! Roman doesn't have a very high opinion of any of them, but the only one he actively avoids is Patton. Something about the fae reminds him too much of his own pack members, a group he considers to be volatile and trouble seeking.

Someone waves a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anybody in there?" says Remy in his familiar drawl. Roman pulls himself out of his own musings to shrug at his friend apologetically. "Sorry, just slipped into my thoughts for a minute. You know how I am," he replies.

His friend huffs, though he looks understanding. "And here I thought that you were just completely riveted by our history project." he jokes, smirking. Roman grins back, about to think up a snarky reply, only to be cut off by the bell.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. See you after school, Rem." His friend waves back distractedly, already walking out the door towards his next class with his iced tea and phone in hand. How that boy makes it through the school day without a bag, Roman may never know.

He stands up himself, stretching and heading towards his advanced art class. He gets so wrapped up in all the different details of his latest project -what color scheme he's going to go for, if he should use chalk or pencil, how intense he wants the lighting to be- that he runs into what seems to be a young man carrying a giant stack of papers that, unfortunately, end up scattering in the busy hallway.

He immediately starts rambling out an apology. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you pick up this whole mess." He stoops down, carefully gathering as many papers as he can in his arms before straightening up again (as much as he can, heh). He hands the papers back to the boy, who he now recognizes as the teacher's assistant from his English class, Logan. 

"Do you want help carrying all of these? It wouldn't be a problem for me at all, especially after knocking you over, and this is a pretty large stack." The other boy starts to answer, only for someone behind him to lay a hand on his shoulder, glaring up at Roman through thick glasses.

Of course Patton Harte would show up and make the whole situation worse. Their wings glitter an angry red to match the scowl on their face. "I don't think my friend needs any help from _you_. You knocked him over in the first place! Why don't you just leave him alone, okay, wolfy?" they practically snarl, moving to stand in front of Logan in a way that Roman might think was protective if he wasn't too pissed to care.

Roman takes a deep breath and tries to reason with the angry fae to avoid conflict altogether, saying, "Can you just calm down, please? I was just trying to help out, okay?"

"Help? When did he ask for your help? Was that before or after you bowled into him hard enough that he fell over? Or maybe around the time you scattered all of his papers?" Patton's voice gets louder and louder as his little rant goes on, drawing attention from several students walking down the hall.

"Can you please stop acting like it was all my fault? It's not like Logan over there was paying attention to where he was going either."

“Oh, so now it’s his fault? You really need to stop digging your hole further, mister.” Patton keeps talking, their voice attracting enough attention that a teacher walks out of a nearby classroom to see what all the fuss is about. 

Roman smiles nervously, knowing that this particular teacher, Mr. King, doesn’t like him, probably because he zones out in his class all the time. Really, how is he supposed to pay attention to _math_? It’s the least interesting subject known to mankind. “Hey, Mr. King. Sorry about all the noise, sir, it’s just a small disagreement-” he starts, trying to avoid any trouble, only for Patton to make a sputtering noise and cut him off.

“A small disagreement? You call knocking over my already distressed friend a small disagreement? You’re such a typical werewolf. What would it take for it to be something that actually matters, huh, big guy? Does someone need to get punched?” the fae scoffs, shaking their head.

Roman’s face grows red and his temper flares, his fists clenching. He reminds himself that he isn’t like the rest of his pack, that even more anger isn’t going to fix the situation. But before he can try to fix the situation, Mr. Duke jumps in.

“Class is about to start. Either quit making a scene and go your separate ways right now, or you will be both be given detention after school.”

Roman would be just fine with leaving, but Patton, ever the trouble-maker, starts trying to talk back to the teacher. “But sir, ignoring it isn’t going to fix the problem! I don’t know if you’re okay with just burying your head in the sand while a close friend is being hurt, but I’m not.” Patton crosses his arms defiantly, staring at the teacher. Mr. King stares right back for a moment before reaching into his pocket and writing them both slips for detention later that day.

Roman shakes his head and opens his mouth to say something, but quickly thinks better of it. Anything that he says right now is just going to turn into another argument with Patton. He shudders at the thought of standing in front of them for one more second. How someone so much smaller than him feel so much scarier than him? Oh yeah, that’s right, by practically seething at the mouth every time someone outside their circle talks to them. The fact that they were incredibly well built definitely didn’t exactly hurt, either. Roman decides that his best shot at survival right now is a tactical retreat and begins his walk to art.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Patton blows their hair out of their (very, very red) face, breathing hard. Whoever convinced them to take weightlifting instead of the usual P.E deserves to never eat another cookie. Having muscles is definitely not worth the torture that is having to do squats on a regular basis! Not to mention that the people in their weightlifting class aren’t very nice to just about anybody, much less so a tiny, five foot five fae with a bad reputation. The first few months of this class were a struggle for them, but eventually, they got strong enough to keep up with the rest of their class. They still kept to themself though, preferring to do their workout in the corner and avoid the other people in their class. The best part of the class was when it was over and they went to lunch. 

Today was especially bad, though. They were in a terrible mood because of what happened earlier in the day. Some stupid werewolf had knocked over their friend, Logan. Patton had flipped out when he ran into Logan with his papers scattered everywhere and a werewolf standing over him. To be fair to the other guy, Patton may have been a _tad_ bit aggressive, but he still shouldn’t have run into Logan! It’s not that hard to watch where you’re going. And now Patton has detention with him tonight because a teacher got mad at them standing up for their friend.

They finish up their set and begin putting up their equipment. Roman had quite the nerve, trying to say it was Logan’s fault. In fact, Patton bets that he ran into Logan on purpose! It wouldn’t be the first time that some werewolf had been horrible to someone in Patton’s little family for no reason. Wolves tended to pick on people, and their group was on the receiving end of their bullying far too often. Patton slams a weight plate into its place rather forcefully, causing several people near them to jump. They don’t even notice, wrapped up in their angry thoughts. 

They finish up in the weight room and head out to the cafeteria. In the midst of all the chaos and noise that is a high school lunch break, there’s a safe haven: their table. The people at it are from being the popular kids, but they’re all very close to each other, so they don’t mind. As long as they all have someone that cares about them, they’re going to make it through the day, and that’s all that really matters. Patton walks over to the table and sits down without any of their usual energy.

“You aren’t still mad about this morning, are you?” Logan asks quizzically. “That was hours ago! And he really didn’t do anything.”

Another voice cuts in. “Hello? Anyone want to clue me in on what happened this morning?” Virgil inquires

“Roman Price knocked over Logan in the hallway this morning. And I _may_ have made a big scene about it and gotten us both detention tonight. So, yeah, you could say that I’m still mad about this morning,” Patton says, beginning to pout.

“You know, he did offer to help me. And he apologized multiple times. You acted irrationally, Patton. It’s not like he trampled me underfoot and then ran away,” Logan points out.

Oh, yeah, Patton is definitely pouting now. They got detention for Logan and now even he’s telling them that they shouldn’t have helped? That seems unfair. They were just trying to help! Even if that help was a little bit overzealous. And they ended up yelling at some (mostly) innocent hallway-walker... and ruining both of their nights. Okay, so maybe Patton feels a little bad. But they couldn’t help being overprotective! They cared about everyone in their group as if they were their children, which sometimes led to them standing up for their kiddos when they didn’t necessarily need it. It definitely didn’t help that their friends are mostly outcasts, which means that they _do_ need to be stood up for fairly often. That didn’t mean that Patton was in the right though. Maybe when they see Roman during detention later they can apologize and start over. Who knows, maybe this Roman person is someone they can get along with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman pauses outside the door to detention. He’s always flown under the radar and avoided getting into trouble before, so he’s never actually had to sit through it. He knows from Remy that he should be expecting an hour with almost nothing to do, which already sounds like the worst possible kind of torture for Roman. Throw in the fact that he’s going to be stuck in a small room with Patton, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Hopefully, they’ll just leave him alone and let him get through the hour without any problems.

He sighs and opens the door. There’s a couple of other kids in the room, though none of them are anyone he knows. Looking around, he decides that he’ll probably be able to keep his head down from the desk in the corner and heads over, chucking his phone into the basket on his way over. Once he’s settled in, he pulls out a notebook and gets to writing a rough draft of his latest story.

Roman hears a soft thud next to him and looks up to see Patton sitting in the desk next to his. They lock eyes with him for a moment, but they soon look away. Roman’s eyebrows raise for a moment in pure confusion before he schools himself and turns back to his notebook, still hoping to be just be ignored. His hopes are promptly dashed as a torn piece of paper lands on his desk. He sighs, and turns it over, expecting the worst.

Oh. That’s definitely not what he was expecting. It simply reads “I’m sorry- P.” in neat, loopy handwriting. Maybe Patton just wants to make up so there aren’t any more problems between them? This next hour might not be so bad after all. He writes “Thanks! Apology accepted” and draws a small smiley face on the back of the paper, hoping that the small fae will see it as the peace offering that it is and not start another fight.

A part of him is still kind of waiting on a paper starting with “But…” that somehow lands him in detention again when he gets a second note. It reads “Do you want to start over? -P.”

Roman is still suspicious so he writes “Why are you being so nice? The things I’ve heard about you haven’t made you sound like the starting over type.”

“Most of the stories you’ve heard about me have probably been from people that don’t like me, then. -P”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m all for being kind to each other. The only time that I fight other people is when they hurt someone I care about -P.”

“That… actually makes sense. I kind of thought you were like the rest of my pack; causing unnecessary fights all the time.”

“So, now that you know better, do you want to start over?-P.”

Roman considers for a moment. Everything he’s been told about Patton says he should say no. But now that he’s actually talking to Patton, they really don’t seem so bad. He can completely understand their logic. Plus, when he thinks about it, most of his information has come from other wolves in his pack, who aren’t exactly the kindest people most of the time. Having the angry little fae as a friend doesn’t seem so bad. His mind made up, Roman nods to Patton.

They write to each other for the rest of detention, homework forgotten; and when detention is over, they exchange numbers and text each other until ungodly hours of the morning (a habit that the two of them never really stop). Roman learns that Patton loves to paint portraits of people they know, walk around in the woods, sing along to musicals, and make puns (only once they’re close to someone, though). He has no idea how he was so scared of them before. At heart, they’re a big softie for so many things- animals and people and rom-coms and basically everything good in the world. Their biggest fault is that they care about people too much, which isn’t much of a fault in Roman’s opinion.

When he hears that they do their makeup on the weekends, his heart _definitely_ doesn’t skip a beat and he _definitely_ doesn’t spend most of his first period daydreaming about how Patton must look with makeup the next day. And despite what Remy would tell you, he doesn’t spend all of his free time raving about how amazing and kind Patton is either, nor does he blush when Remy points out how pretty they are with their pink lips and soft hair and shiny wings and- he just doesn’t, okay?

Patton, on the other hand, learns that though Roman is just as much of a goofball at heart as he acts, he also has a surprising depth hidden under the surface. Roman fills their chat with memes, Hamilton references, and cat pictures; but he also fills the chat with a lot of emotional vulnerability, pictures of his latest (amazingly detailed) artwork, and passionate rants about a wide range of subjects. He’s really not the burly, violent person that they had expected out of a werewolf. Patton just clicks with him, so quickly and so easily that they wonder for a moment if someone put a spell on them or slipped them a potion. They end up having to admit that no, Roman really is just naturally that amazing. 

Unlike Roman, they don’t have a problem identifying how they feel about him. He’s got such pretty brown eyes, and he’s so quick to smile, and he’s so charming that Patton can’t help but be attracted to him. Patton can’t stop staring at him, to the point where all of their friends start teasing them. Even Logan! Logan almost never teases Patton, but they’re so obviously crushing on the theatre nerd that Logan can’t help it. Patton doesn’t even mind it all that much; they’re too busy daydreaming and smiling to care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of them continue to be hopeless gays for a month and a half. Neither of them manages to control their feelings; if anything, they’ve both gotten worse over time. Roman draws Patton on a very frequent basis, though he turns bright red as soon as anyone sees his drawings; usually stuttering out a weak excuse and fleeing the room as soon as possible. Patton has moved from staring to lightly flirting with an oblivious Roman. Patton’s pretty sure that they could kiss Roman and he still wouldn’t get it, but they still can’t bring themself to make the first actual move.

Even the fact that the Halloween dance is coming up doesn’t cause one of them to make a move. Roman knows that asking Patton to the dance could be romantic and great, but he’s convinced himself that Patton doesn’t like him. Surely if Patton liked him, they would’ve said so by now. right? He and Patton are close friends, and he’s too scared to jeopardize that to ask him out. He’d rather be friends with his prince than not know him at all. 

He gets ready for the dance somewhat glumly. Usually, he’d be blasting Broadway tunes and singing along, but he just can’t bring himself to be as excited as usual this year. Knowing that his feisty little fae is out there getting ready without him just made the whole affair feel much less magical than it usually does. However, he manages to pull himself together and make it out the door with a smile on his face. Even if he doesn’t have Patton on his arm, he’ll still be meeting up with them and his other friends at the school. He isn’t quite alone, and that makes it all feel a lot less gloomy.

He arrives in the parking lot in a maroon suit and his nicest pair of shoes, looking around a bit nervously for his little patchwork group of friends. He stops to wonder for a moment about how he ever ended up friends with all these people. A shapeshifter with a habit of lying, an anxious witch, an overprotective fae, a nerdy siren, and a coffee addict. He wouldn’t trade any of them for all the money in the world, even if he’s only been friends with them for a few months. Running into Logan that day in the hallway might have been the best thing he’s ever done.

Speaking of Logan, Roman finally sees him in the parking lot, along with the rest of his friends. He jogs over to them, already beaming. Usually, he and Remy end up ditching school dances in favor of wandering around the town because they’re not all that interested in watching a bunch of teenagers awkwardly slow dance, but this year he thinks he’s going to have fun. After all, with his group of friends, it’s definitely not going to be boring. He’d be surprised if something wasn’t lit on fire by the time he got home.

His train of thought completely stops once he actually gets over to the group and sees Patton. Their wings are a pretty shade of green today that matches their eyes, and they’re dressed in a shimmery white dress that makes them look absolutely amazing. Their face is even better; their eyelids are lined and covered with green eye shadow, and their lips and cheeks are even pinker than usual. In short, they are absolutely swoon-worthy, and Roman is having a hard time stopping himself from doing just that- falling over just from looking at Patton. His cheeks heat and he stutters out a few lines of nonsense before he finally lands on the simple words, “You look very beautiful tonight, Pattycake.” Patton smiles and presses a kiss to Roman’s cheek before saying “You too,” and starting their walk into the high school gymnasium. Roman is left standing there for a moment, watching his friends leave and having what he is convinced is a minor stroke, before he gets a hold of himself and catches up to them all.

When Roman catches up as the groups is walking into the cafeteria, he sees Remy and Dee arguing off to the side, Logan and Virgil going on about all the inaccurate things they read in their biology textbook, and Patton watching over it all with a smile on their face and intervening when the arguments get to be too much. It’s a pretty normal scene for the group, but Roman can’t help but grin at their antics. Since everyone but Patton seems to be thoroughly occupied with some conversation that Roman wouldn’t be able to keep up with, Roman falls into step next to Patton and tries to think of a conversation starter. Luckily, he doesn’t have to, because they say something first.

“So, do you have your eye on a dance partner yet?”

“Uh, no, not really. I thought we were all dancing as a group, anyways.”

"You can't slow dance in a group, silly! I mean, you could try, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't go well."

Roman's eyes get a fraction wider. He honestly hadn't thought about slow dancing. Now that he is thinking about it though, he can't get the image of him and Patton dancing. Patton's dress would swish, and they'd be so close, and he'd be able to see their face so well, and-

"Hey! I have an idea! Why don't we dance together? Everyone else is paired off anyways," Patton suggests with a shrug and a grin, cutting off Roman's daydream.

And Roman might actually die just by being too gay for the world. A wonderful way to go, for sure, but not how he thought it was going to go. Awkwardly, Roman nods and holds out his hand, bowing when Patton takes it. They make their way out to the dance floor, and Roman can't even complain about how sweaty it smells because he's too busy trying not to mess up. He could trip over his feet, or accidentally elbow someone, or any number of things could go wrong. But then he looks back at Patton, grinning like the cat that got the mouse, and all of a sudden he doesn't care. He gets to slow dance with Patton, and that alone is worth any bad things that happen tonight. 

When they get to a place where they can stop and actually dance, they stare at each other awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do, before Patton reaches up and puts their arms around Roman's shoulders. Roman loosens into the touch and reaches around to put his hands on Patton's back, only to be confronted by Patton's wings hovering behind them. He laughs nervously and waits for Patton to guide his hands to the right spot. Patton notices Roman's dilemma and puts their hands over Roman's, leading them slowly to their waist. Roman blushes at the feeling of holding Patton's waist but manages not to freak out.

They sway together, only taking a second to get in sync. Roman is staring down at Patton's face and Patton, feeling the stare, looks up. Their eyes meet, and all that Roman wants to do is move closer. But Patton doesn't like him, or so he thinks, so he stays where he is. He starts to look away -after all, he wouldn't want Pat to be uncomfortable- only for Patton to be reaching up on their tiptoes, straining to get up to Roman's height. Roman's confused for a second, and then Patton's lips are on his and all he can think is "Oh," as he leans down into it, lifting Patton a little closer to him. You'd think his brain was going to be everywhere, but mostly he's just warm and happy and focusing on the fact that he, Roman Frey, is being kissed by Patton Harte. The kiss may be slightly awkward because of the height difference, but it's still the best thing that Roman has ever felt. Even when a chaperone comes over to chastise them, he just smiles and grips Patton's hand.

Speaking of Patton's hand, he feels an insistent tug towards the door of the cafeteria. When he looks over, Patton smiles and says, “I think we should probably talk somewhere where there aren’t as many people, don’t you?” Roman looks back towards the hallway and shrugs. He’d probably do just about anything Patton asked right now. They walk out into the deserted hallway and stand in front of the lockers awkwardly.

Roman is, for once, the one to break the silence. “So.... that was nice,” he says, laughing. “Do you know I was convinced you didn’t like me?”

“I’ve liked you for _months,_ Roman. How did you not notice? I flirted with you so much that I figured you were either not into me or just really, really dumb. I guess I know which one it is now!”

“Hey! I didn’t want to assume. Plus, you could’ve actually asked me out if you really thought I wasn’t getting it, you know. I wasn’t the only one at fault here.”

Patton is about to answer when something occurs to them and they start laughing. “This is just like the first time we met! Only, this time I know you’re not some wolfy brute out to get my friend.”

“Is that really what you thought of me? I’m _wounded_ , Patton,” Roman says dramatically, flinging himself into the lockers behind him and putting his hand over his heart. All his years in the drama club can’t keep the smile off his face, though.

“It’s not like you liked me either!” Patton protests. “Didn’t you hate me and all my friends before detention?”

“Well, hate is a strong word. But I _may_ have thought you were a violent delinquent. Isn’t it funny how much people change? Now I draw you all the time and we just slow danced together and ended up kissing. The world is a weird thing sometimes.”

Patton could say something, but they decide to lean up and kiss Roman again instead. Or at least, that’s what they thought would happen. Instead, they end up losing their balance halfway through and almost falling. Luckily, Roman catches them, and with a smile, leans down to kiss them. It’s just as good as the first kiss, if not better. Roman definitely seems more confident this time around. 

Just then, the rest of their friend group bursts out. “Is something wrong? We saw you guys leave and we were really nervous,” Virgil says, stopping once he actually looks at the two of them. “Oh. I guess you guys are all right, then.” Roman and Patton nod, stepping away from each other sheepishly. Remy and Dee immediately start talking over each other, trying to figure out who made the first move (and who won the bet). After a second, Patton and Roman simply tune them out.

“Would you like to leave? I really want some pancakes, for some unknown reason. I believe there’s an IHOP down the street,” Logan suggests. Everyone agrees, and the little group makes their way out of the high school, still bickering.

As they walk away, Roman puts his arm over Patton’s shoulder and smiles. His first dance was definitely as interesting as he thought it would be. And, considering how it seems to be going with all of his friends, he’s pretty sure it’s going to keep being interesting for a long while yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always nice, but no pressure :) I hope it made your day a little better


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